Crashing and Fast Tracking are one of the most common topics for the PMP Exam. The relevance of this topic is very High and highly useful in practical Project Management.
Fast-Tracking vs Crashing
There are two techniques that can be used to shorten the complete project duration and maintaining the project scope. You might have used various techniques and Fast Tracking ,might be one of them.
In Real world we generally do not use it in the right way. .
Fast-Tracking
Case Study : You’ve done complete analysis in a project schedule, collected the duration estimates with the help of team, and also had developed a beautiful project schedule.
Next Day you are ready to provide it to your sponsor or customer .
Surprisingly while presenting to customer you hear “Get it done faster”.
You agreed to make it faster .
Concept : Is adding resources to project can be called Fast Tracking. Fast-tracking is actually not about adding more resources , it is a technique in which those phases or activities which are done in a parallel mode are executed sequentially.
Change : Change from Sequential mode to parallel Mode can be called Fast Tracking.
Cost : Fast-tracking would not increase the cost but indeed it does increase the risk.
Risk : As activities that were originally planned in a sequential mode are now performed in a parallel mode , it indeed increases the Risk of rework and quality.
Relationship : When we use Fast Tracking we are sure that finish-to-start relationship between the activities is discretionary and not mandatory to follow.
For using the concept in the right way , we need not to go with the words and techniques , we need to go with the real understanding of scope , urgency and dependency between activities.
Example - Fast-Tracking:
The current project schedule will not meet the timelines of the project. You determine that you could fast-track the project. The training material development would begin as soon as the screen shots are produced without waiting for the final sign-off if the screenshots produced.
This will allow the schedule to be shortened without any extra costs. This is a fast execution and if the screen shots prove to be inaccurate, we might have to perform the rework required for the training material.
Crashing
Crash it for faster execution or Fast Track it for faster execution.
Actually in reality , crash it when you want to make it finish faster.
Case Study : You’ve done complete analysis in a project schedule, collected the duration estimates with the help of team, and also had developed a beautiful project schedule.
Next Day you are ready to provide it to your sponsor or customer .
Surprisingly while presenting to customer you hear “Get it done faster”.
You agreed to make it faster .
You made activities to go in a parallel mode instead of sequential. After execution the realization was alarming "You did not save enough time on the schedule by parallel development".
Let us now change the approach to crashing .This will analyze critical activities .
Fast-tracking did not accelerated the schedule , we are now considering adding resources to the project’s critical activities. As a PM, you will want to consider that which resources have the lowest associated costs and might start with the lowest incremental cost .
Concept : . Technique where cost and schedule trade-offs are analyzed to calculate and forecast the greatest amount of compression in the schedule for the least incremental cost.
Criteria
Based on the lowest crash cost per time unit (/ Day ) .
Team to identify activities that would produce the maximum value at the least incremental cost.
Result
The results of a crashing analysis can be plotted in a crash graph.
Activities with the flattest slope would be considered first with priority, they would be most time savings .
Change : Adding the resource to the project.
Cost : Crashing would not increase the cost and risk.
Risk : Risk could be due to new resources added in the mid of execution.
Relationship : Their is generally no change in any relationship in activities.
When to use crashing
High pressure for time to market.
Unforeseen delays in Project.
Delay due to any new Risk.
Incentives for finishing early.
Imposed deadlines.
Pressures to move resources to other projects.
Summary
The reality of project management is not what we see in the day to management but what it is actually. Reality does not change ,only the view can change . For crashing and Fast Tracking the reality lies in the concept of Cost utilization , scope , dependency between activities and urgency of the work to be done.
When we want to deliver faster then we need to compress the project schedule and deliver the project’s product, service, or result sooner as possible than estimated.
First Choice
Fast-tracking is always considered first choice , there are no increased costs but there is increased risk.
Second Choice
Crashing is the next option. Crashing analyzes the incremental crash costs of activities to determine and prioritize the candidates for crashing.
Both fast-tracking and crashing should be used on critical activities (those on the critical path) in order to have an effect on the actual project schedule.